Humped
by hermitsrest
Summary: Serenity has a new crew member and they get more than they bargained for when they drop in at the Space Bazaar. The usual post BDM characters and introducing a few of my own.  The story begins from another point of view.  Follows on from Friends & Enemies
1. Humped

"You'll sleep there above Stan's bunk," explained Bane to the new recruit, "There's not much privacy, I'm afraid – just have to get used to it." Corren had not closed her mouth since she stepped aboard. She braced herself against the side of the bunk as the ship left the planet, whereas Bane just rocked on the balls of her feet, quite used to the motions. "Tony will speak to you before dinner about what he 'spects from you and you better heed his words." Corren nodded obediently, this was so much better than being stuck on her parents' farm on Haven. Bane scratched one of the many scabs on her back, a result of their recent stop on Salisbury. Around the table in the bunk room after dinner Lee Shoo introduced Corren to her first game of cards.

Now that she was away from her parents Corren was for the most part well behaved and enthusiastic. A born spacer in fact. Ragen's cousin had begged them in a wave to take her as she was proving too much to handle on Haven, especially when there was so much to do. But despite the worrying report Corren proved to be a hard-working and useful addition to the Rosalyn, despite her youth. She was a typical Pye in features, Earth-That-Was Eurasian with various mixes over the centuries, dark brown hair and brown eyes. Of them all only Lee Shoo had uncharacteristically blue eyes, a trait from one of his other ancestors. Corren was apprenticed to Angel in the engine room while they were on the ship, having expressed an interest to work there, but took turns with them all when they were planet-side and doing the eatings. The first few months were always the hardest but she had managed to get her shipboard crushes on Tony and Stan out of her system fairly quickly and with the minimum of embarrassment.

"Where we doin' the eatings next?" Corren asked enthusiastically. Tony glanced at her over his cards and placed a careful but unimaginative bet. He was not a good bluffer and Corren matched it smugly. After eight months on the Rosalyn the only person she could not beat was Stan.

"We're headin' to the Space Bazaar. Got requested," replied Tony, with a quick glance at Bane. They had not just been requested to provide eatings and Bane had been making munitions to order for some weeks now. She was just now taking a brief food break before getting back to it.

"Don't they take a mighty slice of any profits we make?" asked Regan who was reading on his bunk, but adding to the conversation occasionally.

"They take a high percentage, more than twenty per cent," explained Tony, "But they have promised that we're the only eatings, 'cept for a few dog meat counters." That was the Pye Family term for independent fryers who served what could hardly be called decent eatings. They could get quite superior in their views of other food vendors, but that was only because they had been in the business for generations.

"A Space Bazaar? What's that?" Corren's eyes were alight with excitement and she totally missed Tony's tell. Fortunately Lee Shoo did not and raised his bet. Before Corren came on board he had been the youngest at twenty two, although he was turning twenty three in a couple of months. He enjoyed not being the youngest anymore.

"The Bazaar is a space station that's set up for to cater for most types of entertainment, high rollers as well as normal folk. It's a big place and easy to get lost in," explained Lee Shoo.

"Yeh, like that time Mal lost himself in that's girl's eyes – what was her name?" teased Bane. Maloranty, flicked his plait and mumbled something, pretended to be really interested in his hand of cards. He had been about to fold.

"Penny? Wasn't it?" added Ragen, "You were all ready to settle planet-side with her too." Corren was open-mouthed again.

"Was she very pretty?" she asked Maloranty directly so he could not ignore her question.

"Yes, she was, but she wasn't interested in settlin' down or flyin' off and cooking for a living." They all remembered what he had been like after leaving the Bazaar the last time, grumpy and morose for about two months. Penny had trampled over Mal's heart and they had all been glad to leave the Bazaar the last time. Maloranty laid his cards down with a superior smile and everyone groaned, throwing their hands in, except Corren. She smirked and laid down her nice little winning hand.

"_Kwin-gwe-je deh_," exclaimed Maloranty, "How do you ruttin' do that?" Maloranty usually did not mind losing at cards, he did frequently, but he hated losing to an eighteen year old. Maybe he was getting to old for all this.

"Cap'n," came Stan's voice on the com, "Wave for you." Tony eagerly gathered up his remaining chips and left. Bane left the others too, making her way back to her workshop. It was a massive order she was making and had taken some investment in raw materials. The pay-off was big though. She had finished the three crates of EMP grenades. The other two crates were nearly full with an assortment of detonators, Pye-recipe putty and a few other tricks. In the cramped space of her workshop there was little room. She sat down at her desk and continued to work, her stomach full and her mind active. This had possibly been the biggest order she had done since the War. Could bring in a load more business too – there weren't many people who could do unmarked munitions fast and on the move. It had always been a side-line to bring in extra platinum but it was becoming more lucrative as the word got around.

Bane worried about it though, because as the word got around it was more than likely the Alliance might get a sniff of it and come looking. Tony was careful though and only took jobs on recommendation from a trusted source. A trusted criminal source, that is. The hardest part was hiding it all from Corren. Bane felt she was still too young to not go off yabbing about their extra-curricular activities. She now locked herself into the workshop when working, but as a result she had to make sure she came back to the bunk room to make a appearance. She would wait until Corren was asleep and then return to the workshop. It was no good trying to sleep anyway while there were still things to build. She penned another schematic in her ledger. Although Bane was an engineer, she had learned during the war not to record anything digitally – Alliance could not scan paper and it burned real easy. Since coming on board the Rosalyn she had filled three ledgers with diagrams and notes. It all helped when creating something new as she could refer to an old trick or two. Tony's voice came over the com asking her to come up to his quarters. She closed the book and climbed over the crates and out of the workshop, locking the panel behind her.

"Got a wave from Sharp," he said when she had closed the door to his quarters behind her. Regan was on shift in the pilot's chair next door.

"Anything to be worried about?" asked Bane.

"No, except he's booked us a room in A Deck." Bane whistled, it was the richest section of the sleeping quarters. As long as they were paying it was alright by her. Bane had perched on his bunk, and was smiling at the capture he always had pinned to the wall. It was an old family capture, taken when they were all still children, the five of them and their parents. She could not remember which planet the capture had been taken on, only that she had been about eight and Tony had been about fourteen or fifteen. She did remember that her Ma had dressed her in a horrible blue dress, being the only girl, but by the time they had all been collected together for the capture her hands, knees and legs were covered in dirt and Marcus and Harry, two of her other brothers, were sporting black eyes. She did not mind wearing dresses now. Only Tony and her were left now. She turned back to Tony, realising that he had stopped talking.

"What is it?" she asked, now a little apprehensive.

"Promise you won't hit me?" Bane relaxed a little, crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to speak. She could tell it was not that serious and but she was making no promises. Tony cleared his throat and looked a little embarrassed. "Well, we've got no problem with our crates being scanned in that area because, well …"

"Out with it, Tony," she insisted.

"Well, that is, Sharp's set you up as a Companion called Nandi. That way no one searches or asks questions," he finished quickly. Bane stood up, hands on hips.

"_Liou coe shway duh biao-tze huh hoe-tze fuh ur-tze_," she shouted, "No way. How could you agree?"

"He's already done it, I had no choice," he cracked his knuckles nervously, "I know that it's something you haven't done for a while. Once Sharp's sure it's safe, the buyer will make contact." Bane was really uncomfortable putting on an act unless it was on her terms, and when she had done the research herself. During the war when she played a Companion in order to extract information, researching the character was critical and having someone else do it was insanity. She was not happy.

"Great, I'd like to get my hands on the _xiao gou tsao de wang bao dahn_. Am I going in alone?"

"We need to get you a servant, make it look proper. I was thinking about Corren?"

"She's way too young and she don't know anything," she argued but Tony disagreed.

"Corren's proved herself and I think it's about time we brought her in. Besides, you'll need some help sewing something rich to wear and the rest of us look too disreputable to pass as a servant of a Companion." Bane allowed herself to smile; Tony was always neatly dressed and hardly disreputable, but he was right, it would be difficult to pass any of them off as her servant, except maybe Lee Shoo. She sighed, capitulating.

"Tony – you like pushing everything the extra light year, don't you? What about a dress? We don't have any material I could use to make a fittin' dress that ain't covered in engine oil or food grease."

"There's bound to be something in the family trunk," Tony stated, having thought about all of this before he called her up to his quarters. Bane had to admit he was right. Always gorram right, that was why he was Captain, and it was very annoying. She had wondered how they would get the goods aboard the Bazaar without detection and being a guest on A-Deck was the way to do it. Bane looked back at the family capture.

"We're a few worlds away from being them, ain't we?" said Bane. Tony smiled with the same distant memories.

"Yeh," he agreed, "You don't fight people if'n they tease you for wearing a dress no more."

"That dress is real shiny on you, Bane," said Corren. Corren, like everything else, had taken the news of Bane's other skills in her stride. Bane was standing on a chair while Corren checked the hem was straight.

"We have to get you one as well. I also need to rich this up a bit." It had been a plain old brown dress of her mother's but they had turned it into two parts; a short sleeved top that finished just below the bust and a skirt that hung from her hips. When she had first put it on she had felt quite naked with her stomach and back bared to the world, as well as more than a little cleavage. She jumped down off the chair. Corren was already rummaging through the trunk which had been pulled from storage and the contents were now scattered around the bunk room.

"Can I wear this?" she pulled another dress out. It was sky blue with home-embroidered, another one of her mother's.

"That's perfect – try it on and we'll see if any adjustments are needed." Bane helped her put it on over her existing clothes. It was too long both in the length and the sleeves but certainly adjustable. Corren suddenly looked serious.

"You won't have to, I mean you won't be a real Companion, will you?" she asked with a slightly embarrassed curiosity. Bane smiled at her reassuringly. She realised that she had been two years younger than Corren when the war started and she had grown up real quick as a result. In wartime she would do things without hesitation, including sleeping with a Fed to gain information, because they were fighting for the cause. The war had ended now and she had already paid the price several times over.

"No, it's just pretend, Corren. It means we get the high roller quarters and we won't be searched." Corren seemed satisfied but was still full of questions. Bane told her to get up on the chair so she could pin the hem to take it up.

"After the job is done, do you think I could get a tattoo? Like yours, but not as big?" she paused, "It's really beautiful."

"And painful," Bane cut in. She had finally decided that instead of hiding her scars she would have them tattooed. She had it done just before they had returned to Haven to hire on Corren. It had been very very painful and she had been very very drunk during and for a week after. The scabs had been especially itchy. Tony had uncharacteristically sworn and raged at her, but at least she no longer drew attention to herself – tattoos were very commonplace, even if they did not usually adorn the whole of one's back. The Doc aboard Serenity had been right. The fact that it no longer shocked her meant that it no longer shocked other people. She could comfortably wear a vest now when it got hot without people giving her horrified glances and awkward questions. With the brown outfit and hopefully some gold trim, her tattoos would actually look good. And she never ever thought she would hear herself say that. Stan walked in and stopped dead, mouth open.

"_Wu de tyen ah!_" was all he could manage to say. Angel was close on his heel and just as shocked.

"Well, I haven't done my hair yet," said Bane, suddenly self conscious. She turned around to find a shawl or blanket but Angel came over and bowed.

"May I have this dance?" he said and Corren giggled and gave her a push.

"Don't be silly, Angel," but he took her hand anyway and gave her a little twirl around the room. Stan grabbed Corren and did the same, although not quite as gracefully as she kept tripping over the dress she was wearing. After one circuit they swapped partners. Lee Shoo came in and hit the com for some music. It got quite raucous when he tried to cut in and have a go too. There was lots of shouting when Maloranty came in from the shower to ask them to keep the gorram noise down. The central table had been pushed to the side with Corren and Bane being flung from partner to partner. Of course he had to get involved as well.

"Somethin's going on downstairs, boss," called Regan on the com to Tony's quarters. Tony sighed and got off his bunk. He bet it was Lee Shoo arguing with Maloranty again. He murmured some curses to Regan and they stomped down the steps together. He would bet his life he would not forget the sight of Lee Shoo and Maloranty dancing around the bunk room together in perfect and chaotic harmony. He then saw his sister. She looked radiant and happy. She had been right about the tattoos on her scars but he still could not help a little shudder because he knew how she had earned them. Tony stepped forward and gave Stan a gentle push.

"Captain's prerogative," he defended. Stan looked momentarily put out but then cut in on Angel and Corren. It all stopped abruptly when the proximity alarm went off. Regan rushed back to the cockpit and then announced that it was another ship heading to the Bazaar that had come a little close. Apart from Tony, the rest of them had collapsed on the bunks or chairs, out of breath and laughing.

"Been a long time since I bin' to a shindig," stated Lee Shoo. "Reckon I didn't know what I was missin' til now."

"Do they have shindigs at the Bazaar?" asked Corren excitedly. She could not wait to get there.

"Sometimes, but they are crazier and like to end in fights," explained Angel, knowing full well that they would probably all go anyway.

Bane walked through the main hanger with her luggage and servant in tow. Her chin was raised and she tried to look as regal as possible. They drew quite a crowd, which is why she had hidden herself for a day before appearing inside the station; she did not want to advertise that they had come off the Rosalyn. She had coiled her hair on her head and curled the ends which hung down to shape her face. It was some distance through corridors and lifts to A Deck. She did not look at the people she passed but had to mutter to Corren to close her mouth a few times. Once they reached A Deck they were shown to the quarters by an attendant. Bane paid him off and then tapped in the room code that Sharp had given her brother. The room was lavish and lushly decorated, pretty hideous décor in fact. The bed was large and central to the room and there were swathes of material hanging above and around it. She saw there was a note on the bed which invited her to the lounge later on that evening. Corren started to speak but Bane put a warning finger to her lips. She opened one of the bags and took out her home-made bug counter.

"Unpack those bags first, dear," she said loudly, "and do those other ones later when I'm not here." Coreen nodded in confirmation, she got the message.

"Yes, Mistress. Would you like me to run you a bath?" she replied loudly.

"That would be a good idea. I feel quite dirty after our journey with that crew – some of them were very uncouth." Corren smirked. Bane's bug counter flashed red, it had located one bug, untagged, by the door to the bathroom. "Mary!" she shouted at Corren, "How many times do I have to tell you – always unpack the music first."

"Sorry, Mistress. Where do you want me to put it?" Bane indicated the spot with her finger and moved away.

"Over there, so I can hear it in the bathroom. Put something relaxing on." Corren turned the dial on the portable com station, turned up the volume and went over to join Bane at the far side of the room. "We'll have to be careful. It's an untagged bug so it could be for us or anyone." Corren was thrilled.

"This is so exciting – is this what you did in the War?" she whispered.

"Not quite, but you need to remain in character or I might very loudly have to fire you, _dong ma_?." Corren nodded, but could not wipe the enthusiastic grin off her face.

"Yes, Mistress," she replied meekly and Bane had to laugh. They continued the charade until Bane was ready to leave to meet the contact. She had changed clothes again into another outfit but in the same style. They had made another dress from rose coloured bed sheet found in the trunk.

"You will escort me to the lounge and then come back here and tidy up. Prepare the room and make sure you're in bed by the time I return," Bane told Corren.

"Yes, Mistress," Corren answered with a smirk. Corren put on her headscarf and Bane adjusted it for her. They went out of the room and walked down the corridor. At the door to the lounge Corren whispered for her to be careful and Bane told her not to answer the door. Heads turned as Bane walked into the room. It was a large room with card and gambling tables set up. Off to her right was a darker room which is where she headed now. She had no idea what the contact looked like only what he was supposed to be saying to her first. It was hard to see anything in this room it was so dimly lit. As she glided past she saw numerous men and few women. They were mostly in booths but there were others sitting on couches talking or fondling. There was instrumental music in the background and two couples gliding in circles on the small dance floor. Bane sat herself down in a comfy cubicle and signalled to the waiter. She was nervous but confident.

"Excuse me, Miss Nandi?" A gentleman had approached. Bane turned to him and waited for him to continue. "I am given to understand that you might consider me as a client?" He was word perfect so far.

"Provided you can give me the name of the person who recommended you," she responded.

"That would be Lord Sharp of Boros," he responded correctly. Bane nodded and indicated that he should take a seat. He ordered some drinks from the waiter who had now appeared at the table. She could tell he was comfortable with dressing smart, so he was the buyer rather than another go-between like Sharp. Once the waiter had gone he spoke again, "Sharp said I would be doing the exchange with a woman but I had no idea you would be so enticing, my dear." He boldly reached out and touched her arm. Bane shifted her arm and glared at him.

"This is purely a transaction for merchandise," she replied stiffly, "Not an invitation to my person. Where is the platinum?" The man looked a little angry but composed himself. He put his hand inside his coat and produced a large pouch bag. Bane took it discretely and fastened it securely inside the sash she had draped over her shoulder.

"Where are the goods?" he asked, equally as stiffly as Bane. He had hoped for a little entertainment before the end of the evening. Bane smoothed her hand over the sash, checking again that the money was secure.

"In my quarters. The room code is 669853. We can go back there now and –"

"Why Nandi," said a voice behind her, "What in the wide 'Verse are you doing here?" Bane stiffened and turned around slowly. Had she not been concentrating very hard her mouth would have dropped open.

"You have the advantage of me, Sir, have we met?" She flicked her gaze to the man next to her to see he had put his hand in his pocket. Bane assumed it meant he was armed. She shifted her body so that she was in his line of fire.

"Sir Theo Harbatkin, we met last year at the annual ball on Persephone. I'm hurt you don't recall." He pouted and offered his hand for her to take.

"Oh, yes, I remember," she almost stammered, "How nice to see you again." She held out her hand and he bowed over it formerly. The tension of the man sitting next to her was almost tangible.

"You promised me a dance and I did not collect. I'm sure this gentleman won't mind if I steal you away for a dance. Will you?" and before either of them could refuse she was whisked on to the dance floor.

"It's very nice to renew acquaintance an' all, Captain Reynolds, but I'm in the middle of a transaction here." She was about to disengage herself but Reynolds gripped tighter.

"You're being humped," he said and whirled her around so her face was not visible to the man at the table.

"No, you're wrong. He came through a reliable contact. Sharp would never –"

"Sharp's bin pinched by the Feds. You used him too often and he attracted attention. Likely they blackmailed him to bring you in." Mal's eyes were sweeping the room for trouble, but he still managed to keep in step.

"How did you find out?" she asked through her teeth, smiling sweetly as she came into view of the man sitting impatiently in the booth.

"We were making a mail call, I saw you walking through the main mall looking all shiny and dollified – very pretty, by the way. Jayne near had a fit." Bane flushed but it made no difference in the dim light of the lounge.

"Yes, thank you Mal," said Bane, her mind working furiously, "but that still doesn't explain –"

"The ID Sharp gave you," stated Mal hurriedly, "belongs to a dead former Companion. I know this because I seen her die." Bane knew that the minute she had walked on board it would have shined all kinds of lights with the Feds. Impersonating a Companion was all very well, impersonating a dead Companion could get you bound-by-law and that was not including the stuff she was selling. She tried to think quickly but they were out of time.

"He's coming," hissed Bane as she saw the man was coming towards them. Mal clasped Bane tighter by the waist.

"Might be I buy out your client and spend the night with you instead," he stated loudly.

"It doesn't work like that, Sir Theo, my client has already paid," she replied, equally as loud. Mal was glad that she had made the drop – at least they would not lose out. The man put his hand on Mal's shoulder to formerly cut in. Mal was carrying off his character well otherwise this Fed would not be acting so polite.

"Her time is mine, Sir Whoever-you-are, kindly return the whore to me," and Mal punched him full in the face. He fell heavily to the ground, out cold. Bane starred at them both in turn.

"Great, make a scene, that's just what we need," she said angrily. Mal was unperturbed and he looked around. A few men and staff had approached with worried expressions on their faces.

"Is everything alright?" asked one of the staff nervously.

"Gorram _wang bao dahn_ insulted my wife," stated Mal, "Accused her of being a Companion whore."

"It was just a mistake, lambkins," replied Bane, falling in with the role, "there was no need to hit him," she added through her teeth. She knelt down and did a quick non-qualified check – he was still breathing was all she could determine.

"And you," Mal turned on her, puffing out his chest and thoroughly enjoying himself, "Taking a drink with him? What would little Turner and Marylou say if they knew their mother was drinking with strange men?" The people around them looked embarrassed and avoided looking at her directly. Bane felt embarrassed too, as if she really was being unfaithful, it made her more than a little angry that Mal was so competent in carrying off a role. She vowed to get her own back some day.

"We'll take care of him, Sir," said the waiter, kneeling down next to the prone man. Mal took Bane by the arm and dragged her from the room. She stumbled a few times before catching her feet. Once they were in the corridor Mal looked both ways, trying to judge which way to go. Bane was seething.

"We should have taken him with us – I gave him my room code," shouted Bane.

"That was a bit forward of you," he said, "Mind you, in that outfit –" he did not finish his sentence but let his eyes travel down. In the space of a breath Mal started moving down the corridor with Bane in tow.

"We're going the wrong way, gorram it," she said pulling her arm from his grip and turning around.

"Leave it – you've got the money," he stated, and made to grab her again but Bane picked up her skirts and started to run in the opposite direction.

"I can't, my cousin is still in the room. I have to fetch her," she explained.

"You and your _fong luh_ cousins," Mal grumbled and then followed her. They caused a few startled glances from others walking in the corridor. Mal had to punch one guy who tried to stop him, thinking he was up to no good chasing a woman down the passage.

"Cap'n we got trouble –" Zoe's voice came on the com and then cut out. Bane had reached the room, breathing heavily, and she tapped in the code to open the door. It slid open and she dashed in.

"Corren!" she called and Corren guiltily sat up. She had been dozing on the main bed. "We've been humped!" she added and Corren did not need telling twice. She jumped off the bed and then drew a gun from nowhere as Mal had followed Bane into the room. Mal's hand went instinctively to his own gun but he did not draw. "He's with me," Bane explained urgently and Corren lowered it. As Bane searched for anything else that might incriminate them – well, apart from the five crates of tricks. Mal stood by the door actually agitated and kept looking down the corridor. Corren had stripped off her dress to reveal the t-shirt and trousers underneath. She holsters her gun, which she had persuaded Lee Shoo to give her, into her belt. She knew it was not the appropriate time to tell her cousin how much fun she was having. Mal spoke sharply into the com he carried.

"Zoe! Tell the Rosalyn we're taking his sister and the other relative on board. We'll wave him."

"_Jien tah-duh gway_!" shouted Bane, "I know we need to get out of here, but we're going back to the Rosalyn." Bane secured her sash by tying it around her waist. She was gorram sure they were not going to lose the money, even if the deal had gone sour.

"No, Serenity's closer – we have to leave now." There was something in his voice that made her stop arguing and pay attention. Corren was out of the door and following Mal before Bane, who took a final glance at all her hard work, pursued them both. They all ran back into the corridor and headed towards the main walkway. Bane noticed that Mal had run straight past the lift and shouted at him to stop but he just carried on, ignoring her. The main station alarms sounded, a loud a piercing noise. She wished she could put her hands over her ears but it would only slow her down.

"We're humped," shouted Bane over the noise. They had caught each other up.

"The whole station is," said Mal in a quieter voice. He did not remember the corridors being this long on the way in and he was now breathing heavily himself. They stepped out onto the upper walkway and looked down on the mall below. The sight that greeted them confirmed that they really were all humped. Reavers had decided to attack the Space Bazaar and they swarmed amongst the terrified people below. Bane pulled Corren round to face her.

"Listen to me, Corren, you've heard the stories 'bout reavers. Whether we get out of this mess or not, you save one bullet for yourself, and you shoot them in the head – _dong ma_? _DONG MA_?" she emphasised by shaking her by the shoulders. Corren nodded emphatically, petrified but determined, like Bane. They followed Reynolds along the walkway and tried to ignore the screaming going on below them. Mal was hoping wildly that they were going in the right direction. In order to gain access to A Deck he had got River to re-dock, but this place was so big he was not sure he was still going in the right direction. His thoughts almost cost his life as a Reaver appeared in front of him, he shot him point blank before his machete could come down on his head. Bane shot the next one that came straight after. Mal picked up their weapons, apart from the machete they now had an axe which he handed to Bane.

"Stay close, we're almost there," he said, picking up speed again and recognising where they were. Bane looked behind her to check on Corren and saw another Reaver running up behind her. He was almost on her. She raised the axe.

"Down," she screamed and swung the axe with all her strength. If Corren had not moved then it would be her head now flying down into the throng of bodies below. "Go," she shouted again and pushed Corren ahead of her. Mal had turned left and was running up some stairs. He shouted into the com but kept running, occasionally checking that the others were still behind him. They came out into one of the smaller docking bays. It was full of people fleeing for their lives, but no Reavers yet. The three of them pushed their way through to the docking port for Serenity. There were already people hammering frantically on the door. Mal shouted into the com again and the door opened. The throng of people temporarily froze as Jayne and his big gun stood in the doorway. Mal took advantage of the momentary still and pushed Bane and Corren through. The spell broke and the people tried pushing in behind them. Mal burst through the cargo bay door and sealed it shut. With a few choice words to Jayne he carried on up to the cockpit.

"Go," he shouted down the com. Bane had her hands on her knees and was trying to recover from all the running.

"Is he going to leave all those people?" Corren asked Bane, taking in her surroundings at the same time. Being younger she was also fitter and hardly out of breath at all. Bane had opened her mouth to ask the same question but Mal had disappeared up the stairs and already the ship was pulling away. She had to find out if the Rosalyn had got away.

"Stay here," she told Corren and gathered up her skirts to run after him. She heard Jayne shouting after her. She burst into the cockpit and then swept forcefully into the wall as River swerved the ship to avoid a Reaver ship's fire.

"Gorram it," said Mal and reached for her from his chair. Jayne was supposed to make sure they were strapped in like the others downstairs. He managed to grab an ankle. There was no other chair in the cockpit and Zoe was already in some kind of tight-lipped trance – probably remembering the last time they were in a Reaver fire fight. At least River had not fallen apart. Yet. She rolled the ship again and Mal lost his grip on Bane who went sliding across the floor. Damn the woman for hardly wearing any clothes. The ship jolted again.

"Report!" He turned his attention to his pilot. River was in another world She was in Wash's world. She could hear Zoe in her head repeating his mantra 'leaf on the wind.' The Captain's words got through and she answered.

"We're being chased by one of the smaller ones – I can lose him, Captain." Bane had now managed to grab onto Zoe's chair stand. She cursed Mal and herself in the same sentence.

"What about the Rosalyn?" she gasped. River banked again and Bane held on to the chair stand, the rest of her sliding across the uneven floor made up of metal grates and panels. She managed to brace her feet against the Captain's chair stand. Finally a little secure if uncomfortable.

"They're away," was River's curt reply and she banked again to avoid another laser burst from the Reaver ship. Bane rested her head on her arm, relieved. It was several very long shaky minutes before they were able to make full burn. All her knowledge and training kicked in and the screams of the people left on the Bazaar were getting fainter. River pressed buttons, cursed eloquently in Chinese and changed course several times. When the ship was no longer rocking violently from side to side Bane got up from the floor. Everything had happened so fast. It was hard to judge the time but it seemed that barely twenty minutes ago she was taking money from a Fed. Mal un-strapped himself and got out of the chair. He took off the tie and undid a few buttons of his shirt so he could breath again.

"That was a little too close for me," he said, "Nice driving, Albatross." River did not replied as she was still concentrating on getting them well away from any Reavers. Her back did straighten though.

"They've never hit a space station before, Captain," said Zoe. She realised that her finger nails had pierced the armrest in the chair. All she could think of was watching the spears coming through the cockpit and spearing her husband's body. She shook her head to try and get rid of the image.

"Guess they got hungry," replied Mal, who was already switching to other matters, "Are you gonna tell me where in the hell Jacobsson got to? He was supposed to be on the door with Jayne. Or are you just gonna leave me guessing?" Zoe was unperturbed and Bane left them to it. Whoever Jacobsson was he better be dead or injured. She made her way back down to the cargo bay where she found Corren openly admiring Jayne's gun in the seating area and came over all maternal.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Fine," said Corren brightly, "Apart from being covered in Reaver blood – thanks, for that by the way." Jayne's mouth hung open as he viewed Bane from head to toe and then repeated the process several times. Bane folded her arms and looked back at him.

"Good to see you again, Jayne. Thanks for looking after my cousin."

"Figured she must be related, you all have a similar look – took some gettin' in the chair though." Corren flushed and defended herself.

"Well, I didn't know what you were doin'. Seemed to me like you was fondlin' me." Jayne smirked and tried to look as innocent as possible, but achieved rakish instead. He stood up and Corren reluctantly handed back Vera.

"I ain't saying nothing as your cousin here does things with knives. Wish I'd had to manhandle you too though," he added, looking Bane up and down again. After the tension and fear of the last hours it felt good to laugh.

"Help please," came Simon's voice from the Med Bay. They all rushed there. He was trying to hold down his patient – possibly the unfortunate Jacobsson – and administer shots as well. Bane leant over his legs and Jayne held the rest of his body. He was covered in blood and seemed to be bleeding from several wounds. Simon managed to dose him and the patient finally lay still. Bane stood up and discovered that his main wound was down his thigh and now a good bit of that blood now covered her. She removed her sash which was now soaked through. Only when it hit the floor with a thump did she realise that the money was still tied inside it. "Thank you both," said Simon, when he had stabilised him.

"What happened?" asked Corren, her curiosity taking priority again.

"Reavers sliced him up some – didn't move out the way in time," explained Jayne, "If he'd stayed by the ship like the Captain said, he wouldn't be in this mess and I wouldn't have had to carry him back." Bane wondered if Jayne had been exactly following the Captain's orders as well in order to be in a position to bring him back.

"You saved his life?" asked Corren, gazing up at a now grinning Jayne. Bane rolled her eyes and pushed her out of the door – the last thing she needed was for Corren to get a crush on Jayne.

"Let's leave the doc to his work, shall we?" Bane wanted to have a bit of peace and quiet to gather her thoughts.


	2. Cousin Trouble

Several hours and course changes later a calm had returned to the ship. Bane had introduced Corren to Kaylee and had left them discussing the merits of various engine parts, using language she had never heard before. Kaylee seemed to have the ability to converse with everyone on their own level. Now that they were safe Bane needed to calm the shakes which had set in. As she made some tea in the galley she realised she was still in her Companion clothing and it was covered in a mix of Reaver and Jacobsson's blood. The teapot clattered against the cup. She set it down and took some deep breaths.

"Hope that blood's not yours," said Mal coming in from the cockpit end of the galley. Bane opened her eyes.

"No, part of it belongs to Jacobsson," she replied, "Do you know how he's doing?" Mal came behind the counter and took over the tea making without asking. If he saw Bane's hands shaking he said nothing.

"He's stable, but the Doc has a lot of sewing to do." Mal handed her one of the steaming cups.

"Is he part of the crew?" she asked Bane, recalling that she had turned Mal down on his offer of a job some nine months ago. Mal remembered to and shrugged in response.

"Since the last five months. He's able too, if'n you can get him to stay put." Bane sat down at the table. "Was that your first time with Reavers?" he continued. Bane gave a short laugh and showed him her trembling hands.

"It's that obvious then?"

"Well, no. Most people fall to pieces in fear the moment they see one. You handled yourself impressively. Your cousin weren't bad either for someone so young."

"She's very capable. Can put her hand to most things," Bane answered absently, "Listen Mal – do you think my brother and I are flagged?" Mal sipped his tea and thought about it.

"Seem likely that they would have had a world of proof if you'd been pinched at the Bazaar, but Feds won't go near the place now and like as not your contact friend –"

"The guy you knocked out."

"Yes, the guy I knocked out. Reavers probably got him. That fellow Sharp is probably in custody and singing his little heart out. Reckon you'll both have to tread careful or at least stay out of the munitions business for a while." Bane sighed, it would certainly dent their income but it was better than the alternative. At least Tony had never said directly that the munitions they supplied were made on board his own ship, only that he could supply them.

"I still can't believe we got away." Bane clasped her shaking hands around the cup, "I don't suppose I can borrow some clothes or something?" she looked down at herself, not exactly presentable at the church social. Mal considered her request with a smile.

"I don't know, Jayne is awfully easy to manage with you dressed like that," he grinned, "but you're right, don't want you attracting flies. I'd ask Zoe – reckon your cousin'll be more Kaylee's size though." The devil on Mal's shoulder wanted to see what Inara would make of Bane impersonating a Companion. He knew she would throw one hell of a fit – had a mind to drop into the Companion House on Sihnon. Bane was doing her own thinking and chuckled herself when she recalled their dance in the Bazaar lounge.

"You're quite a dancer, Mal. Who taught you?"

"My Ma. She said it would be something that women would always appreciate," Bane could tell he remembered his mother warmly.

"Do you go to many shindigs then?"

"Some, but they always seem to end the same way."

"What – knocking people out?"

Cap'n likes to fight duels," stated Zoe, coming into the room. "Didn't have chance to say it afore, Bane, but that's some fancy get up you're wearin'."

"Amazing what you can do with an old bed sheet and some gold trim. I was just about to come looking for you – can I borrow some clothes?" she looked back at Mal, "I kinda left without having a chance to pack."

"No problem. You stayin' for a while?" asked Zoe and they both turned to the Captain for an answer.

"Depends on when we can meet up with your brother again." Mal shrugged, "We were on our way to a drop ourselves. I have to make the deadline with Monty or we'll lose a load of platinum," he held up his hand to prevent Bane talking. "I've waved your brother and told him we'll meet on Aberdeen in three days."

Being on the Serenity again held mostly fond memories for Bane. Her shakes had stopped but she still could not sleep without seeing that Reaver bearing down on Corren. She finally gave up and went wandering around the ship as she had done last time she was on board. It was all very quiet and peaceful, just like on the Rosalyn at this time of night. Zoe had kindly loaned her some clothing. The trousers were a little long so she had turned them up at the bottom. The red shirt she just wore loose and untucked. Although Zoe was taller than her they were about the same size in the upper body. There had been enough space in the guest quarters for Corren and Bane to have separate rooms and Corren had gone to bed early, making the most of having a room to herself.

A few things had changed since she had last been there. The Companion, Inara Serra had left for the Training House again barely two months ago. From what had not been said at dinner she gathered it had been due to a disagreement between her and Mal. Reynolds was definitely not one to advertise his feelings but it did seem there was some complicated history between them both. She found herself at the Med Bay and was curious about how the newest crew member was doing. The Doc had worked on stitching him up for hours. She had passed him in sleeping in one of the armchairs – exhausted but needing to stay close to his patient. She padded silently barefoot past him and popped her head around the door to the Med Bay. Jacobsson was still unconscious but with a much better colour to him, at least as much as she could tell under all the face hair. The man looked like a Viking from old Earth history complete with pillaging battle scars. She near screamed when he spoke.

"Gonna introduce yourself or do you just like starring at nekkid men?" his voice was quiet but clear.

"I was trying to be quiet, thinking you were asleep – and you're hardly naked," she retorted, composing herself. His eyes had flickered open and she thought there was a smile under the beard. She stepped into the Med Bay and he used his uninjured arm to pull the sheet up a little further.

"Wouldn't attend the church social like this. Still haven't introduced yourself."

"Bane Pye."

"Pye…anything to do with Pye Eatings? Had me some amazing food with them before the War."

"All Pyes have something to do with Pye Eatings. But yes, I'm part of the Rosalyn Pye. Why, you hungry?" She folded her arms.

"Starvin'." He tried to prop himself up but gasped in pain. Bane came over and helped him sit up. He made no further noise but was breathing hard through his nose. He gradually settled again and she moved away.

"I think I better ask the Doc if I'm allowed to give you food otherwise I might make you worse. Are you in a lot of pain?"

"Some, but I'm better feelin' it than experiencing the alternative." She could not disagree with him. She was torn between going to wake the exhausted Doc to get him administer some painkillers and trying to take the man's mind off his pain to let the Doc get a few more hours of sleep. She opted to stay so she sat on the other couch. He adjusted the sheet again and continued talking, "How come you're not in bed like everyone else?"

"I couldn't sleep and it's been a _zao gao_ day," she replied flippantly. Jacobsson snorted.

"Agree with you there. How did you come to be here?" Bane had assumed Mal had told all his crew what was going on. Apparently not then.

"I was on A Deck doing a deal with a Fed, as it turned out, and Mal managed to prevent me from being humped. Then the Reavers picked that moment to attack the Bazaar."

"Yeh, I remember that part." Bane looked at the parts of his body she could see. Apart from his leg which she had viewed earlier, there had been another bad slash to his right arm but the other cuts were fairly shallow and now covered in clean bandages.

"Jayne said he carried you back to the ship."

"Yeh, I'm feelin' kind of warm and fuzzy towards the guy now an' I never thought that day would come," he still expected Mal to give him a mouthful for going off when he had told them to stay with the ship. Well Jayne had been with him, and barely ten feet away chatting up a shop girl when the Reavers started rushing the main mall.

"Don't think Jayne did either. Makes him a big damn hero."

"Guess you're feeling better, Karl," said a very bleary-eyed Simon. Bane guiltily got off the couch.

"Sorry, Doc, he was awake and we just got to chatting."

"It's fine," he waved her concerns away, rubbed his eye and turned to his patient, "Are you in any pain?" Karl nodded and Simon efficiently administered a further dose of painkiller.

"He said he was hungry, is it alright if I make him something?" Karl looked at Simon pleadingly. Simon smiled wearily. Although Jacobsson spent most of his time with Jayne he was certainly not as ornery or insane.

"Yes, I think so – nothing too substantial though." Bane smiled and then remembered that she was not on board the Rosalyn and did not know what food provisions Serenity had.

"I can't guarantee Pye Eatings standard, Karl, but I'll see what I can find." Bane went away and returned barely fifteen minutes later with some noodles and fine-chopped stir fry canned vegetables. Jacobbson had fallen asleep again so Bane left the food on the trolley beside him.

"Will he be alright, Doc?"

"Nothing a bit of rest and recuperation wouldn't cure." Simon gave a big yawn but he was not going back to bed now. Bane pointed to the bowl of noodles – she could always make more. Simon shook his head as he was not hungry.

"How have you been? And River?" she had not seen much of River at all, except briefly at dinner.

"We've been fine. River gets better everyday but it is slow progress – she was the one who knew the Reavers were coming before they arrived."

"And how's things with Kaylee?" Simon grinned, it was obviously still going well.

"I still make mistakes, but on the whole we're very happy. Mal allowed us to merge two of the guest quarters into one."

"Really? She must be serious about you," Bane stated, from what she had seen of Simon, he had always been serious about Kaylee but the last time she had been here, Kaylee had not seemed as committed as him. "Older and wiser then?" she gave him a grin.

"Older, but I wouldn't say wiser. We're still on the ship."

"Not happy here then?" Simon sighed, it was obvious he was conflicted.

"I've given up so much and this is where I am. But if I had it to do over again I wouldn't change a thing. When I got River out of the Academy, I had no plan. Mal maybe psychotic sometimes but he's given us a home. I never expected to find someone like Kaylee on the way. But I'm not sure I want to spend the rest of my life floating from place to place. I'm no spacer." He shrugged and changed the subject, "Nice tattoos, by the way. Didn't get the chance to say earlier. Can I have a closer look?" If it were anyone else she would have refused but she knew his reason for asking was mostly medical mixed in with a side order of curiosity. She turned around and lifted up her shirt. Simon came around the bed and took the edge of the shirt and inspected the artwork.

"Got the idea after we did some eatings on Salisbury and I saw this big guy with his whole back tattooed and it got me thinking – 'bout being more bold, like you said." Simon was impressed. Bane had chosen her tattooist well. The work in a dark henna with blended black outlining mirrored exactly the scarring, so much so that unless you ran your hand over her back it could not be seen. "Took several hours and a lot of brandy, but the result was definitely worth it. You can hardly see the scars now unless you are up real close."

"It's real nice work, Bane. I won't ask you how much it hurt. Thought you looked more at ease with yourself." Bane stole a quick glance at Jacobsson who she saw was still asleep. She pulled down her shirt again.

"Does make me feel better about the whole thing, but it'll be a long time until I'll be totally at ease with myself. I'll leave you to it then, Doc. If you do need someone to take over watch, just knock on my door, I'll be happy to do it."

"Thanks," he replied. Bane left and went to her bunk opposite Simon and Kaylee's. She lay on the bed and starred at the ceiling until breakfast. Sometimes being an insomniac was a real pain in the ass.

Serenity landed smoothly on the Dust Planet that evening. Mal was dealing with his cousin, Monty, who had only a very short time to swap goods and money and be away. Monty was a hard man but jolly and generous in the company of Mal. They talked incessantly while moving the crates from one ship to another and occasionally references to Saffron or Bridget came up. Fortunately, they could laugh about her now. Bane pitched in with the others and helped to off load and re-load onto his ship. She was just lifting another crate with one of Monty's men, called Eric, when they heard shooting. Both of them dropped the crate and rushed down the ramp of Monty's ship. They dived for cover as bullets started to ricochet off the remaining crates. It was the planet's lawmen. They had driven up without lights and were firing from inside their armoured vehicle. She could see Mal and Monty in front of her, crouched down and furiously discussing the situation. A shot whistled over their heads. Bane looked around for Corren but failed to see her and hoped she was on the Serenity and staying put. She wished she had one of her EMP grenades as the vehicle was over fifteen foot away and they could disable their weapons and still keep theirs. Eric nudged her with his elbow and she saw that Mal was waving to her. She did not understand so she crawled past the crates and on her belly towards him and Monty.

"Got any tricks on you?" he shouted over the noise. Bane shook her head, she had not even put her special belt on, not expecting trouble.

"I might be able to conjure something up – do either of you have a com on you?" she shouted back. Monty produced one from his pocket. "I'll need to make it short range and we'll need to get in close to throw it, otherwise I might take out the 'lectrics on our ships as well.

"Don't fancy walkin' home, little lady," put in Monty, "What else you need?" Bane explained and Monty told her where to find the stuff. His ship was closer and able to be reached without exposing herself to gun fire too much. Bane ran back to the crate and passed on Monty's comments to Eric. Both Mal and Monty knew that things would go real bad if they ended up killing any lawmen. The planet was not developed enough to provide land locks so they just had to disable them in order to get away cleanly. Bane had got on board Monty's ship and was feverishly stripping the com to pieces and shouting to Eric to get the wires and chip parts she needed. There was still a lot of firing going on outside and a couple of bullets kept finding their way inside Monty's cargo bay. Eric returned with the goods, including part of a grill they had in their galley. She snapped and screwed the parts into place and wrapped tape around it to hold it together. It was done finally and they both ran back out to the crates. Mal was ready and she quickly stood up to toss the makeshift EMP grenade to him. He caught it cleanly. She turned to crouch back down then could not believe her eyes. She saw Jayne and Corren running back towards them from over the rocky bluffs. They were desperately trying to fasten up their clothes and it was very obvious they had not been helping off load the goods but each other instead.

"_Tah mah de_, I'll ruttin' kill –" and then it all went black.

"Easy now, Bane. You're okay," Simon's voice was reassuring as she came to. Bane gathered her thoughts about what she remembered. She opened her eyes, wincing at the brightness of the Med Bay. Her head throbbed and she tried to move her hand up. "You've been shot in the head," Simon explained bluntly, pressing down on her hand to keep it by her side. "We're back in the Black on our way to Aberdeen to meet up with your brother." She finally managed to focus on his face but had to squint to stop the light hurting.

"Corren and Jayne?" She heard a chuckle from someone else in the room.

"Captain's been shouting at them since we took off," said Jacobsson, "Surprised it didn't wake you." Bane looked over and saw that he had been moved to the side couch and Bane was now on the main couch.

"She's only eighteen, for Buddha's sake," she murmured. The throbbing in her head was getting worse. Why it is she always got injured in the head when she was on Serenity.

"By all accounts the instigator," explained Simon. Bane groaned as he touched her head. It felt like her head was about to burst.

"And I bet Jayne's sayin' he had no choice," laughed Jacobsson, echoing Bane's thoughts, even though the last thing she wanted was to picture Jayne and her cousin going at it in the dunes.

"What happened, Doc?"

"You got a grazing shot to the head – right before the Captain took out the lawmen with that homemade EMP grenade of yours." Simon did not go into the full story. There had been so much blood – head wounds have that effect – but it also scares most others into believing you are dead. Only Eric had seen her shot at first and as one used to dealing with bullets he did basic first aid, or spacer first aid. He wrapped her head in a shirt sleeve and checked she was still breathing. In the meantime Monty, Mal, Zoe and the others had tied up the lawmen and ensured they would not be going anywhere until they were all safely in the Black. When Eric had run up to tell them that Bane had been shot, Zoe had run to Serenity to call for him.

"Did Mal's cousin get away as well?" she asked, glad that the makeshift device had worked.

"Yep, but he probably won't be able to use that planet to exchange goods anymore. They'll have both the ships flagged." Bane relaxed a little and closed her eyes again. The throbbing was a little less that way.

"How's the leg, Jacobbson?" she asked.

"Improving by the day, thank you," she heard him say, "Specially after those noodles you cooked. Been a while since I tasted anything that good." She smiled, not really understanding how anyone could eat protein bars on a daily basis.

"Guess it's your turn to keep me company now."

"Seems to be – Doc won't let me leave yet either. You must have one hell of a headache." Bane laughed softly, as that description just did not seem adequate. She felt like her head was the size of a watermelon and like to wobble off her shoulders if she moved too much. She had visions of it splattering on the floor in a red gooey mess.

"Does it look bad?" she asked tentatively.

"Might be you can make a fashion from having a bald patch on one side of your head," chuckled Karl.

"What!" She opened her eyes again and tried to sit up. The room swam and she almost pitched off the side of the couch. She gripped the sides like her life depended on it.

"_Tzao gao_, sorry – bad joke. Doc?" called Karl. Bane was throwing up on the floor. She coughed, finished, and looked across at him with an ugly squinty stare. Karl looked very repentant but pointed behind her towards the mirror. Bane kept her grip on the edges of the couch and slowly turned around. He had been joking. There was a bandage around her head but no discernable hair loss. Simon came hurriedly into the room and saw the mess. He picked up the medical dish that he had left beside the couch in case she did feel nauseous and waved it in front of Bane.

"Next time you clean it up," he said sternly.

"It was my fault, Doc. I told her you had shaved her head." Simon mumbled that he would not do anything so barbaric without good cause.

"I only cut a bit of the hair around the immediate wound. It's likely to hardly show once the wound has healed."

"I didn't figure she'd be so easy to wind up," said Karl, who also like to wind up Jayne regularly.

"I'm still here, you know," she said, having calmed down again, "And after I put up with you bleeding all over me too – that's the thanks I get."

"Huh?" Karl looked at Simon and he nodded.

"Bane lay on your legs when you came to before I could stitch you up," explained Simon. He was not worried about either of them now. They would both live, they had the same survival resilience as Mal and Zoe. He left them discussing apologies and thank yous and stepped out of the Med Bay. He bumped into a very nervous Jayne and Corren on his way to the cockpit to report Bane's condition to Mal.

"Is she alright?" asked Corren nervously. There was genuine concern in her face.

"Apart from wanting to take one of my scalpels to start slicing Jayne up?" Simon was enjoying himself watching Jayne cringe.

"I better go and see her and explain," said Corren, visibly gulping.

"Leave her to rest for now," said Simon blocking her way, "There'll be plenty of time to say you're sorry later." He could tell that Corren was not in the least bit sorry, but he gave stern orders for them not to disturb Bane.

"She alright, Doc?" said Zoe coming into the galley.

"Yes. She'll make a full recovery – I was just coming to tell Mal."

Jacobsson lay on the couch and practised moving his leg again like the Doc had showed him. It was hard going as the Reaver blade had cut right through his thigh muscle, amongst other things. He still chilled to the bone thinking how close he had come to appearing on their menu or worse. When he closed his eyes he kept getting flashes of the Reaver coming upon him, completely deranged. To take his mind off it he had tried to keep Bane entertained until she finally dozed off from all the doses the Doc had fed her. He tried to feel guilty for making her sick earlier but could not, it just made him laugh remembering her horrified face. Karl liked to play pranks on people. Except Mal, well maybe if it was a really good one and there was no chance of Mal killing him straight afterwards. He had already got Kaylee a good one a couple of months ago by putting green protein food dye in her shower soap.

He cooked one up for Jayne on their last visit to Persephone. Mal had amazingly allowed them two days shore leave. While Jayne was occupied with a girl he had met – first time in a while he had used his charm rather than his coin to get a girl – Karl paid a guy to dress up and pretend he was her husband. Karl had been right behind him and seen Jayne actually jump out of the window, only discovering he was three stories up after the fact. For a brief moment Karl thought his prank had gone horribly wrong but when he stuck his head out of the window Jayne was hanging all naked to the 'Verse from the ledge. Well worth the black eye he gave him later and he even contributed enthusiastically to the telling of the story at dinner time. He stopped exercising when his leg started to get painful and was taking a breather when Mal came into the Med Bay.

"How you feelin', Karl?" he asked in a whisper, looking over at Bane's sleeping form to make sure he had not disturbed her.

"Gettin' better every day, thanks Cap'n," he whispered back, "Faster now you've got me some shiny company. Was what Simon said true – did she make an EMP grenade from an old com and a toaster?"

"Think it was part of a grill, but yep, she did," he smirked. Karl shook his head in disbelief.

"Very useful person to have, that," he replied. Mal nodded.

"I agree. Before I hired you I offered her a job but she turned me down. It wasn't a final no, though. Maybe you can sweet-talk her for me." Monty had asked him if he could get Bane to make him up some tricks and he would pay well. She had profitable skills but her brother did not know who and how to deal to get the most platinum without attracting unwanted attention.

"I'll have a go, Captain, but I've already made her sick." Mal laughed quietly as he told him in whispers about the earlier episode. He was on guard himself against Karl steering one of his pranks in his direction. "I tell you," Karl continued, "I wanna be a spectator when she finally gets to talk to Jayne and her cousin." Mal had already given them both an earful about dereliction of duty, but Corren was not a member of his crew, so it had not ended well. He felt like some kind of wicked uncle and that was all kinds of nasty.

"Might be we all suddenly have jobs in the vicinity when that time comes," he agreed.

Corren came into the Med Bay later, unable to stay away any longer, despite the Doc's instructions. Bane was awake and talking to Karl. Her eyes widened as she saw the bandage around her head and then all the dried blood stains on her clothing. Now her face was cleaned up it did not look as bad as when they had brought her in. She had looked dead then. They both stopped talking when she came in. Bane stared at her, folded her arms but said nothing. Corren felt like she was seven years old and caught stealing food from the kitchen. She decided on the bold stance.

"I'm grown enough to make my own choices," her voice trailed off at the end when she saw the anger in her cousin's face.

"So you think it was the right choice to be sexing it up with Jayne in the middle of a drop?" Corren bit her lip but remained stubborn.

"We din't know it was all gonna go to hell. We came back as soon as we could."

And what if we'd had to get out there quick-like and you both were still behind some rock like rabbits?" Corren flushed and looked across at Karl. His expression was closed and he said nothing. This was a family business and he would not get in the middle of it.

"I ain't the only one to blame," she said mutinously and Bane now knew why her father had been so keen to get rid of her.

"Believe me, I plan to talk to Jayne – but the fact that you still think you've done nothing wrong means you ain't ready for some of the responsibility and faith my brother had you down for. For Buddha's sake, Corren, you were on duty." Corren looked visibly upset by those words and then turned to anger.

"Been on the Rosalyn for near nine month with everyone treatin' me like their kid sister. You may be able to last that long – or longer - without a man, but I ain't anything like you. Jayne wasn't exactly pushin' me away." Bane swung her legs down off the couch and Corren took an instinctive step back.

"Well, we'll soon be at Aberdeen, so we'd be happy to drop you back on Haven and you can wreak all the mischief you want then." Corren opened her mouth to make another angry retort but could not stop the tears appearing so she ran away. Bane steadied herself on her feet.

"Where you going?" asked Karl, who still could not walk himself and so could not stop her, "Doc said you gotta stay put."

"Gonna find Jayne," was all Bane said and she walked out the Med Bay. She found him in the gym. She watched him lift weights, totally concentrated on the task in hand and she padded silently over. Jayne seemed to be going for some kind of record. She waited for the right moment and then stood so her face came into his vision while he lay on the bench. The weight he had momentarily rested on his chest was up in mid air. "Tell me, _shee-niou_, is it your way to take advantage of young girls?" She had covered the weight rests so he was unable to push the weights further up and rest them. He began to feel the strain and breathed harshly through his teeth before speaking.

"She weren't unwilling, Bane – and I certainly weren't her first. Why, she did this thing with her – _ai ya_!" Bane pushed down firmly on the weights so that Jayne was forced to bring them to rest on his chest. He found he was having trouble breathing.

"You could have both been killed or arrested, not to mention left behind on the planet." Jayne was going red in the face and giving her daggers for looks because he was helpless to retaliate. "Slice and dice, Jayne, remember that." Jayne's eyes widened and he managed to gasp.

"She – came – on – to – me."

"_Nee boo goo gah, nee hwang chian_," retorted Bane and loosed her grip on the weights. She walked away and went to her quarters rather than the Med Bay, collapsing on the bed. When she awoke she found that someone had moved her back into the Med Bay. She took a deep frustrating breath and then looked over to see Karl trying out walking with crutches with Simon hovering nearby.

"That's it," Simon was encouraging. "Use your other leg to bear the weight for now." Karl was gritting his teeth as he was finding it difficult to distribute his weight.

"How's he doing, Doc?" asked Bane drowsily. They both turned around, Karl more slowly than Simon.

"Very well. Least he does what he's told which is more than you. Had to get Mal to carry you back in here – Jayne wouldn't come near you." Simon tried to look stern but it just did not convince.

"Sorry, Doc," she apologised although without meaning it, "I had to get it out the way before we got to Aberdeen. If I gotta stay here until you say though, I'm gonna need something to eat afore I starve to death."

"A definite sign that you're getting better. I'll go and get you both something." Karl hobbled back to sit on his bed again. Simon had told him it would be a while before he would be allowed to use his quarters again on account of trying to get up and down the ladder. Hopefully he could have one of the guest quarters for a bit once the Pyes had gone.

"We should get to Aberdeen tomorrow morning. Probl'y start getting' dull around here again," he said after Simon had left.

"I doubt that. From previous experience things are never peaceful or dull on Serenity – she does not live up to her name in that way." Karl found his opportunity to fulfil Mal's request.

"Cap'n said he offered you a job before. Why'd you not take it?" Bane was surprised that he knew about that, but then he had been on Serenity for some months now.

"Wasn't ready to leave my family then. Now he's got you though and Mal doesn't hire people likely, so you must be good." Karl shrugged at Bane's last comment. Truth was Mal had picked him up in a bar after he had helped prevent him and Zoe getting completely trounced in a U-Day brawl.

"What if the job offer was still open?" he pursued. It had not even crossed Bane's mind that it would be, but the only reason Karl would be asking was if he had spoken to Mal. She pushed the question back at him.

"Is the job offer still open?" Karl smiled and scratched at his beard.

"I asked first," he said. Bane laughed at the childish retort and lay her head back on the pillow.

"Truth is, I would take it if it was offered again. Number of reasons though. I probably need to separate myself from Pye Eatings so that Tony can still do legitimate business without fear of being tagged. The very last thing I want to be is mothering my young cousin through her sex life – I'd love to leave my brother to that one. Most of all though, I am itching for a change and this lot on Serenity are the first people in many years who I felt I could trust outside of family. Besides, like I said, it ain't dull around here." Karl was pleased with himself that it had been so easy. They heard someone coming down the stairs outside the Med Bay, it wasn't Simon who returned with food but Mal.

"Simon said you was feelin' better," he said to her, handing Karl one of the bowls. Bane took the other bowl, filled with noodles with protein bits. It was vile but she was very hungry so she ate it.

"Much better, only two hammers in my head now. How's Jayne?"

"Avoidin' your cousin like she was poxed," said Mal, pleased that she had been able to make him see reason and wishing he had been there to see it. Bane laughed.

"Not long till we get to Aberdeen anyways," she added, "so he won't have to avoid her for much longer." Karl sucked up his mouthful of noodles quickly to say something.

"Bane says she might reconsider your offer of a job, Captain." Bane looked at both of them and saw that they had planned it from the off. She should have known.

"Might be I need to lie low for a while from the Rosalyn," she responded with humour, "but looks like you both managed to get the answer from me. If you'll still have me, Captain Reynolds, I will be honoured to join your crew." Mal pretended to consider her request and Bane thought for a horrible moment that Karl had got it wrong and she gave him an angry look. Zoe spoiled it all by coming in and asking if Bane had agreed this time. It was Mal's turn to give Zoe an angry look for spoiling his Captain-considering look.

"You're hired. You can have the quarters opposite mine. Would you still be willing to freelance your munitions? Might be I could find some better and more reputable contacts than your brother – no offence," he added at the end.

"None taken – I worried about the same thing myself. Tony's never been cut out for the criminal lifestyle," she smirked as it was obvious she meant that Mal was. She thought quickly, as this was her bargaining opportunity if ever there was one, "Any freelance jobs you arrange I want twenty five per cent of the take." She saw both Zoe and Mal's eyebrows raise in unison. There was what seemed like a seriously long pause and Bane wondered if she had gone too far. Mal folded his arms with one of those glances at Zoe that talked a thousand words and he answered.

"Figure that you're the one doing all the building, so it's a fair statement. Make it twenty per cent, you buy the raw materials and you've got yourself a deal." Mal held out his hand in confirmation. Bane shook it warmly, relieved that she had not taken it too far. As Mal and Zoe turned to go, she spoke again,

"Just one other thing, Captain," said Bane very seriously, handing back the half finished bowl. Mal looked a little astonished that he was the one doing all the hiring and she was doing all the bargaining, but he let her speak.

"What is it?"

"I don't want to be the only one cookin', but I select the food stores from now on, _dong ma_?" Both Zoe and Karl verbally agreed and then remembered that Mal was the Captain. They looked at him at the same time. He laughed and held up his hands. That was one deal he would not bargain over, it was most certainly agreed. It was usually Kaylee's chore and he was sure she would not mind giving it up.

"Ship's gonna be quite full of people now," said Karl after Mal and Zoe had left. Bane allowed herself to feel a little excited, but also apprehensive.

"The hard part will be telling my brother."

"I'm glad you got away, Tony, I was so worried," Bane was sitting on the bed in his quarters. The Rosalyn was waiting for them as the Serenity had touched down barely thirty minutes ago. She had not seen the others yet and presumed they were down in the cargo bay. Mal had kindly said she could take all the time she needed to tell her brother, provided it did not exceed a week. She reckoned it was not his only reason, he wanted Karl to be fully fit before taking on another job again. Tony was looking at her and he was very serious. "What is it?" she asked, definitely worried.

"There isn't an easy way to tell you this, sis, but Lee Shoo is dead. He was in the main mall and couldn't get back to the ship in time. The Reavers must have got him." She was shocked to the core but had no words. They were both silent and imagining the horrible fate Lee Shoo had been dealt. Bane went over and hugged her brother and shed a few tears for her cousin. The family was getting fewer by the year. She remembered that Lee Shoo had made her a birthday cake a few months ago and put the full twenty nine candles on so it had caught fire. Tony had done his own private grieving since it happened, they all had. Lee Shoo had been too young to serve in the war and his presence on the ship reminded them all what it had been like before. For Bane she realised it was barely three days ago that she had danced with him around the room of their bunk. She firmly refused then to remember Lee Shoo as he died, but as he had lived and as they had known him. She sniffed and wiped her eyes and they talked a little of their memories of him and composed a wave to his parents on Persephone.

Afterwards they went for a walk. Aberdeen had one large industrial city but the rest of the planet was fairly sparsely populated with farms and there were plenty of places for two ships to land without attracting attention. All there was up here in the mountains was a small village about an hour's mule ride away. They walked away from both ships. Bane still had the bandage on her head but was now wearing her mother's shawl, a rather threadbare formerly light blue cloth – one of the few items she had managed to keep with her after the war.

"Reynolds reckons that we may not be flagged but we should keep our heads down for a while," she said, finally feeling the time was right to broach the subject of her job offer. It was a clear and sunny day but there was an autumn chill in the air. It was a nice fresh wind that blew away the cobwebs.

"He's right," agreed Tony, "It'll be hard finding a contact as good as Sharp again." He stooped down and removed a leaf that had caught in his flip flop.

"Reynolds has contacts," she replied quietly. Tony looked at his sister and saw that there was something on her mind. He stopped walking and sat down on some rocks. Bane sat down beside him and they were silent for a few moments. Tony took a deep breath.

"He's offered you a job again, hasn't he?" he said. She did not answer or look at him but nodded her head. Tony was surprised at his own reaction. He had not expected his first emotion to be one of relief. He could never admit it to her but the criminal dealing had never entirely sat well with him. But neither did he want Bane to leave and go off to the unknown, away from him. Reynolds did not exactly have the reputation for bringing her back to him unscathed. So far she had returned both times injured in the head. He looked across at her again and knew that it did not matter what he said. "You accepted his offer this time, didn't you."

"Yes. I'm sorry, Tony. But I've made a deal with Reynolds that I get twenty per cent of the take for any munitions jobs," she stated enthusiastically, but then changed tack, "You know I've been getting itchy. It's not that I don't want to be with family, but had it not been for Reynolds or the Reaver attack on the Bazaar you and me'd be sitting in a Fed prison right now." Tony could not argue with her logic because she was absolutely right. If they did stay together and continued the munitions sideline there was a chance that they could be pinched sooner or later, but if they split up then it might be that they could get the best of both.

"We'd be alright if we were only legit with just the Eatings ... no more munitions," he knew what her answer would be but it was something he just wanted to hear her say.

"I can't just give it up," she explained earnestly, "It's a part of who I am."

"No, it's what you did in the war – just like I was an Infantry soldier," he raised his scarred feet to emphasise the point, "You don't see me ever wanting to go back to that." Bane was quiet for a moment, and more than a little upset. She wrapped the shawl around her tighter.

"I can't just give it up. Look, we didn't see each other at all from the time you joined up after war was declared until you appeared at Niska's Skyplex nine years later. Not that I ain't grateful, I'm all kinds of grateful that I'm not someone's slave anymore." She released her hand from holding the shawl and reached for Tony's hand. "I can't just do Eatings. I can't just comply. I have to do more." Tony still did not understand but accepted his sister and her reasoning.

"You can go if'n you let me in on a share of your profits from any munitions jobs you do." Bane opened her mouth in surprise but then realised that Tony was a business man first, criminal mastermind tenth.

"I'll let you in on my take of the munitions, but I still want to keep a share in the Eatings as well," said Bane."

"Deal," said Tony and gave her a hug. They stayed talking for another hour or so and then started back to the ship.

"You need to keep a big eye on Corren while Serenity's still here. She's taken rather a shine to Jayne Cobb," said Bane.

"_Fei hua_! I sent her over to the Serenity with food supplies by way of a thank you for getting us out of the _go se_." Bane rolled her eyes.

"Great, Tony. I told her she was confined to ship." She threw up her hands and Tony had to admit that he was going to miss his sister more than he could ever express.

"When does the Serenity ship out again?"

"Mal says a few days. Think we can keep Corren and Jayne apart for that long?"

"I doubt it – there was a reason her father wanted us to take her an' it wasn't cos she was all shy and biddable," stated Tony. He shivered, it was getting quite cold dressed in a thin shirt and vest.

"I'd like to buy some food off the Rosalyn with some of my share of the platinum from the Fed." She had handed the money over to Tony earlier.

"Have whatever you need, we're due to re-stock soon anyway. You will take care, won't you _xiao mei mei_?" he touched the bandage on her head, "I still want to see you in one piece next time." Bane did not answer that question – like as not she would be injured again and more than a few times.

"Come on, let's go to the cargo bay. I've some goodbyes to say over the next few days."

Bane started moving her belongings over to the Serenity the next day. All her cousins and Tony wanted to see where she would be sleeping – they would not believe she had her own quarters. Fortunately Mal and Serenity's crew were very indulgent. That evening, after disposing of all Serenity's protein supplements, the Pyes cooked a farewell meal in the galley of the Serenity. Mal was a little bemused at the site of all of them crammed in cooking, but the smells were wonderful. It had been a long time since he had been part of an old time feasting, which is just what this felt like. They moved around each other like dancers. River's mouth hung open as she watched them all. Bane ducked under Maloranty's arm as she added some herbs to Ragen's dish. It was loud and noisy in the whole area and Bane would never forget it.

Later on they cooked up a bit of a shindig and were dancing around the table. Jayne and Stan had carried Karl up from the Med Bay. He sat in the small seating area being fed by Bane on a mixture of Exmoor Pye, chased with Kaylee's very strong home brew. Exmoor Pye's most important ingredient was New Canaan brandy. Tony pulled her up for a dancing turn around the table. She noticed River gliding past her in the arms of Stan, the Rosalyn's pilot. He was considerably taller than her and it looked like her feet hardly touched the ground. At one point Kaylee came up with the idea of playing a very evil prank on the passed out Karl and Bane helped her to do it, certainly in no condition to refuse. The drinking lasted all night and there was no one left standing when the sun glared into the small windows in the morning. Surprisingly it had been Jayne who remembered to lock the cargo door right before he pulled Corren into one of Serenity's smuggling compartments. Neither of them could remember the next morning whether they had managed to rise to the occasion. While most of the Serenity crew had managed to make it to their cabins without breaking their necks, the Pyes were spread over the lounge, galley and Med Bay.

Bane came to and found she was face down and drooling on the chair, her hair matted to her face. One of her arms had fallen asleep so she lifted her head to get up. Definitely too much of Kaylee's home brew. Her mouth tasted like she had licked a gorram rat. She could not stifle a groan as she tried to raise herself but there was a person's weight on her back. She gently rolled off the chair onto the floor and looked around. It was Karl, collapsed over the couch. When he was asleep she couldn't tell where his eyes were there was so much hair. He looked like a bear, and after what she and Kaylee did to him last night, a big pink bear. She stood up and stretched – several bones cracked - and stepped over Maloranty who was snoring loudly on the floor. She over to the galley. Stan was asleep at the table, head resting on his arms. Bane thought that the best thing for everyone was a big fry up. Stan woke with all the clattering pans and lent a hand, even though he was no cook himself.

"We're all gonna miss you, Bane," he said, "But last night was one hell of a send off."

"From what I could remember of it, "Bane agreed, "I don't think I've drunk that much for years." The smells of bacon, mushrooms, fry bread and tomatoes started to wake the others up and they drifted in from all corners of the ship. No one said anything when they saw Corren turn up behind Jayne dressed only in his t-shirt. Bane managed to hold the relatives off eating, but not Jayne, until the rest of the Serenity crew came in. All except Kaylee who, according to Simon, was throwing up in her quarters. Not a medical emergency, just too much home brew. Simon had difficulty remembering some of the things he had done the night before too, but the hardest part had been carrying Kaylee down into her quarters. He had flashes of a brief moment of passion, largely instigated by Kaylee, and then waking up the next morning to the sound of her vomiting into the toilet. The table was filled with more food and Mal was not the only member of Serenity worried that they were using all the Pye rations in one go. It was very very good though and he leaned back in his chair after finishing, fully satisfied with the world.

"I have to say, Tony, that you Pyes certainly know how to throw a party. Not sure I'll forget this one in a while."

"Sweet as Pye," chimed in River who had done enough dancing to last her a year. Her legs were actually aching. She smiled charmingly the Rosalyn's pilot on whom she had formed her own little perfectly logical crush – they had spent a lot of the night drunkenly comparing piloting Serenity over the Rosalyn, despite being interrupted by her geeky brother every two minutes. She stuck her tongue out at Simon now but he had his nose in strong coffee. Zoe scraped another round of bacon and mushrooms onto her plate earning herself a scowl from Jayne. She had a healthy appetite this morning, despite the hangover and she felt good. Last night had been the first time since Wash's death that she had not thought about him every two minutes. She had made it back to her quarters, passed out and had a wonderful dream and not woken up crying for a change. She knew Wash would have loved the party.

"I was planning to ship out today," said Tony, also satisfied with the world. He looked around at his hung-over crew, "What do you say, Stan – are you in a condition to fly us to Regina?" Stan blinked blearily.

"Not sure I'm sober, boss," he burped. Stan was telling his Captain the truth but he would not mind a few more hours with River. She was quick as a whip and it had been a long time since he had been fencing.

"Me neither, boss," repeated River to Mal, while she kept eye contact with Stan – she liked fencing. Bane listened to the chatter at the table. She would miss her cousins and she would not want to see any of them pinched by the Feds. She knew she was making the right move and was more than a little excited. She did not know whether it was the possibility of danger and uncertainty or just the knowledge that she would likely be pissing off the Alliance again. She saw Corren gaze across at Jayne. At least that love affair would be short-lived. It already looked like she had been put off by his eating habits. Karl, who was eating his breakfast from the couch, was the only one slightly annoyed – he had been the butt of a vicious prank the night before and nursing a giant hangover. When he found out who had done this to him, it would be payback – soon as he could walk again.

Breakfast lasted longer than anyone intended. Although Mal was due to go to Boros he did not seem inclined to turf people out and Tony was slow to leave. Both crews seemed to be making the most of this lull in their activities as they all knew it never lasted long. It was close to evening and after a rough game of kick about the two crews parted with handshakes and hugs. It was River who made sure that both ships left the ground at the same moment. She liked the sense of symmetry.


End file.
